A midseason look at who will win award for Coach of the Year

Lots of places have been tracking MVP candidates as the season has gone along, but what about the coaches? This is a snapshot of the season at its current point. If the NFL Coach of the Year voting was held today, who would win?

Here are the power rankings:

32. Joe Philbin, Dolphins

Yes, the Dolphins are .500. But if your entire season is marred by a locker room scandal with two members of your offensive line leaving the team amid bullying and harassment accusations, you aren’t winning this award.

31. Greg Schiano, Buccaneers

Not sure how Schiano isn’t last on this list. It’s been a weird year.

30. Gus Bradley, Jaguars

29. Mike Smith, Falcons

The Falcons at least fought hard last night against the Saints. That’s something to build on, right?

28. Mike Shanahan, Redskins

27. Leslie Frazier, Vikings

26. Mike McCoy, Chargers

25. Jeff Fisher, Rams

24. Wade Phillips/Gary Kubiak, Texans

This has been a terrible year for the Texans, but with Kubiak actually sending himself to the hospital due to stress about it, there should certainly be some sympathy for the coach.

23. Mike Munchak, Titans

22. Dennis Allen, Raiders

21. Jason Garrett, Cowboys

Yes, Cowboy fans. Crazy as it seems, your coach is just a fine, middle-of-the-pack coach. The media likes to either paint him as Super Genius or Laughing Stock, depending on the latest Cowboys result, but when all is said and done he’s just a regular, fine NFL coach.

20. Tom Coughlin, Giants

If the Giants keep winning, he could somehow end up in the top ten. Five weeks ago he would’ve been 30th on this list.

19. Doug Marrone, Bills

18. John Harbaugh, Ravens

17. Mike Tomlin, Steelers

Both Harbaugh and Tomlin are dealing with gutted rosters and making the most out of bad situations. That’ll earn them some respect in the voting.

16. Chip Kelly, Eagles

No one’s stock has fluctuated so wildly this season when it comes to Coach of the Year potential. After Week 1, he was the outright favorite. After a few weeks in to the season, close to bottom. Now, after the emergence of Nick Foles and the settling down of his defense, he finds himself closing in on the top 15.

15. Bruce Arians, Cardinals

14. Marvin Lewis, Bengals

13. Rex Ryan, Jets

This Jets season has been messy, and their offense is not good, but Ryan can still build an incredible defense.

12. Rob Chudzinski, Browns

11. Mike McCarthy, Packers

If the Packers lose again this week, McCarthy’s stock could drop fast. Other coaches have shown they can win when their starting QB goes down. McCarthy needs to prove he can do the same.

The only thing hurting this duo is the fact that everyone assumes Peyton Manning is coaching the team.

6. Bill Belichick, Patriots

If this feels low for Belichick, it might be. But after that loss to the Panthers, and the boredom that everyone must feel for voting for Belichick every year, he’ll settle here this week.

5. Chuck Pagano, Colts

4. Ron Rivera, Panthers

Riverboat Ron! After a huge Patriots win, an aggressive new strategy, and a flashy nickname, Rivera’s stock has never been higher.

3. Pete Carroll, Seahawks

2. Andy Reid, Chiefs

Reid was, and probably still is, the prohibitive favorite to win this award, after turning around a terrible Chiefs team to 9-1 and tied for first in the AFC. A loss to the Broncos, however, and an awful decision to punt on 4th down to Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter, saw the old criticisms of Reid (poor clock management, doesn’t know how to coach from behind) rear their ugly heads.

1. Sean Payton, Saints

Payton just got a big division win against the Falcons, a 9-2 record, and the city of New Orleans going crazy for the Saints. After the Saints finished under .500 with Payton suspended last season, his return has seen the team find their swagger, and proved just how valuable their head coach was to the organization. As of today, he’s the front-runner for NFL Coach of the Year.